PDP: Sheriff ready for reconciliation

The Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said it was ready to reconcile with the National Caretaker Committee headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi.

National Secretary of the faction, Prof. Wale Oladipo who disclosed this in Abuja noted that some eminent and committed Nigerians, who were apolitical, had been meeting with the feuding parties with a view to resolving the lingering crisis.

He said that Sheriff and Makarfi attended a peace meeting initiated by the troubleshooters, where an agreement was reached for an amicable resolution of the crisis.

“The two leaders have agreed that a 24-member committee of committed PDP leaders and members from all over the country will be formed to chart the way forward for our party.

“This is with a view to bringing this unnecessary crisis to a stop and making sure that our party comes out of it stronger.

“Sheriff is out of the country; as soon as he comes back, he and Makarfi ‎will put this committee together.

“This committee will be mandated to quickly come up with a template and make PDP what it used to be, with restored vision of its founding fathers.

“‎We are working to selecting the 12 members that will join the other 12 to form the committee to resolve the crisis,” Oladipo said.

He stated that Sheriff was in touch with the faction’s National Working Committee on the peace move from his base abroad.

“He is speaking with us and the names are being compiled; we will talk with the other side before we make anything public.

“I can assure you that we are ready,” he said.

Oladipo said that the party would ensure that there would be timeline for the peace move and ensure that it would be flexible and realistic.

“It will be realistic and flexible because we want a holistic solution that can withstand the test of time,” he said.

On the date for inauguration of the committee, he said that both Sheriff and Makarfi would meet and decide on it.

On outcome of governorship election in Edo, the faction’s scribe said that the party would engage legal means to contest the result as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).